According to Olivia Parr-Rud, author of The Data Mining Cookbook, "The newest process, structure or technological advances will not guarantee organizational success. It is the ability of the people designing the process and implementing the technology that can make or break a successful outcome.  It is to the benefit of the organization to not only align the processes, structures and technology, but to support the greatest adaptability and health of its people.  Increasing clarity and decision making and communication does effect the overall productivity and bottom line of the organization as a whole."    

 

• 65% of workers say workplace stress caused difficulties

• 60-80% of on-the-job accidents are stress-related

• 40% of job turnover is due to stress

• 25% of all workers indicate their job is the primary stressor

• Work stress is correlated to burnout & performance issues.

• Relationship and communication issues are major contributors to stress

-    25% felt like screaming from stress at work

-   18% experienced threat or verbal intimidation

 

A study determined that employees' perceptions of the psychological climate at work influenced job involvement, work effort and work performance.
S. Brown et al. J Appl Psychol 1996; 81(4)

Sustained positive emotion has been correlated with numerous organizationally-relevant benefits, including increased cognitive flexibility and innovative problem solving, improved decision making, negotiation style, creativity, job performance and achievement.    - B. Staw et al. Organization Science 1994; 5(1)

 

Productivity

• Over 300 million working days are lost annually due to stress

• Cost to business is $50 billion annually.

• increasing by approximately 15% annually.

• 60% of managers felt that stress decreased productivity.

• Estimated cost of 16 days of sick leave per person annually.

 

In a recent 3-year analysis of over 46,000 workers from six major U.S. companies, depression and unmanaged stress emerged as the top two most costly risk factors in terms of medical expenditures increasing health care costs by 2 to 7 times as much as physical risk factors such as smoking, obesity and poor exercise habits.
R. Goetzel et al. J Occup Environ Med. 1998; 40(10)

 

Costs: Workman’s Comp and Health Insurance Claims

• High stress has resulted in 30% more workers comp claims.

• In small companies this translates to an excess of $7000/ month

• Dr. Paul J. Roach, President of the American Institute of Stress, reports that 75 to 90% of all visits to health care providers result from stress-related disorders. Among the nation's top executives, an estimated $10 to $20 billion is lost each year through absence, hospitalization and early death, much of it a direct result of stress.

• Bad health habits resulting in obesity cost companies $13 billion a year in health insurance.

 

Absenteeism

• 60% of all employee absences  are due to job stress.

• An estimated 1 million workers are absent every day due to stress.  

• ‘Presentee-ism’ may account for 18% to 60% of employee costs.

• One in five of all last minute no-shows are due to job stress.

–   Small businesses -$602.00/worker/year

–   large employers- $3.5 million annually

 

A recent survey revealed that 75% of Americans describe their jobs as stressful, with more than one in four reporting experiencing high levels of stress 'nearly every day.
C. Cooper & R. Payne, eds. Causes, Coping and Consequences of Stress at Work. 1988